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Indoor Pollutants

Never having children who chewed on their crib rails, window sills or rocking chairs, I could never understand the phenomenon of those children that did. I understood the danger if the items being chewed were covered in lead-based paint, but never why children preferred to chew on these dangerously painted objects.

How Can You Stand Such Times and Live

Today, reporters are feverishly investigating which presidential candidates tip their waitresses and which do not. Oh. My. God. It's Tipgate. Is that the best that the press corps can do? Osama bin Ladin is still loose---six years after 9/11, American armed forces were ordered into an unnecessary pre-emptive war, the credit markets are groaning under the weight of U.S. debt, 43 million Americans don't have health insurance, an American city drowned when the levees broke, and all we want to know is whether the candidates are poor tippers. How can a poor man stand such times and live?

Little Things to Do for Big Gas Mileage

The numbers add up! And you know that with today's gas prices (and Heaven only knows what they'll be tomorrow) every little thing we can do to make that gas go further is a big help. Not only to our pocketbooks but to our little whirling blue and green planet.

These are ideas that I've gleaned from www.climateprotect.org/:

Hey, Is Your Water Running? Go Catch It!

Are you one of those that leaves the faucet running while brushing your teeth, shaving your face, rinsing dishes or veggies as you wash them or peeling potatoes or boiled eggs? May a plague of camel chiggers find you and torture you for a fortnight! Turn the faucet OFF between uses! Put the veggies in a colander or a bowl. Same with the dishes. Put a coffee mug in the sink full of water for rinsing off your razor. You can save up to 10 gallons of water doing this for every gallon of water you REALLY use.

Savings--The Earth and Your Money

More ways to save:

1. If you live in a mobile home, build an insulating skirt around it.

2. If you live in a warm place like we do here in Texas, when it comes time to re-roof your house, try to use as light-colored shingles as possible. Preferably shingles made from recycled materials.

3. If you're having a house built, ask your architect and contractor about alternative "green" materials that are out now.

4. Whenever you need to replace a window, choose a high-performance, energy-saving window.

Dude, Really?

Honey, Republican men are dropping like flies. But, this one takes the cake!

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Minority House Republicans, already reeling from a sex scandal that prompted one member to quit, have severely disciplined a Vancouver lawmaker for inappropriate remarks to a female staffer.

 

No, no, wait. Don't quit reading. Seriously, read on. It gets better.

Got Milk Gas?

Last night I finished a fascinating book titled Flushed: How the Plumber Saved Civilization, by W. Hodding Carter. In it, Mr. Carter not only writes how plumbers have changed history but that they have the ability to greatly help save our future. Simple technology in India is solving the horrendous problems of massive amounts of toxic and pathogenic excreta entering water supplies. Today as I'm working the polls and waiting for the mere less than 1% of my precinct's eligible voters to crawl from the woodwork and vote, I read in the Houston Chronicle where that has precisely started yesterday big time--in Texas!

Cornyn: Uses the children he turned his back on for a photo op!

You know you have become jaded when despicable political acts are no longer cause for surprise. I may not be surprised, but I feel compelled, even though a week has passed, to hold Texas Senator John Cornyn accountable for his despicable act. 

Yes, he has once again used a photo opportunity at Ripley House that serves the very children he turned his back on when he voted against expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) intended to reach thousands more uninsured children like them.  

Amendments 7 and 12 May Have Important Local Impacts

This editorial utilizes the facts about Amendment 7 and 12 to draw an opinion regarding their potential impact on the Grand Parkway Segment C development in Fort Bend. 

This editorial synthesizes numerous interpretations and expressed opinions and is simply offered here for your information and critical review. You are also urged to visit the following sites for further explanation and analysis of pros and cons.  

"You Have Awakened a Sleeping Giant!"

Beware! A sizable group of citizens in Fort Bend County were recently awakened from their slumber by what felt like a bolt of lightening. Once they opened their eyes, they were shocked at what they saw. They're now setting off alarms around the clock to wake up their neighbors and expressing their collective outrage with a thunderous roar! 

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